What are you reading at the minute?
A Hunger by Ross Raisin. A really beautiful bookheaven.
What is the best thing about going to international book fairs?
Seeing people face-to-face after 11 months of Teams meetings with them!
Is your reading preference for physical books, audio, ebooks, and why?
For me, print is king and will always be. I can’t get into audio as I then get distracted so goodness knows how people listen to them when they’re out and about, and I’m not a massive fan of eBooks, even more so when you consider I spend most of my day in front of a screen. I do see how both have their uses and can understand their popularity, but for me nothing beats having an actual book in your hands. Plus, I do love getting to nosey whenever someone posts a picture of their bookshelf online.
What was your first job in the book world?
Working in a smaller publisher, so I had many job titles – Sales Assistant, Rights Assistant, PA to the Directors, Contracts Assistant, Office Manager – which I’d have to change depending on who I was e-mailing.
Is your reading preference for physical books, audio, ebooks, and why?
All of the above! Physical for evenings on the sofa, ebooks for travelling, and audiobooks for doing really boring things like ironing.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Being able to teleport – seeing friends and family immediately – and going to Bologna whenever I want!
What has been your favourite book in translation, and who was the translator?
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. I loved it so much, and have been reading The Books of Jacob as a follow-up, translated by Jennifer Croft, but at 900 pages, it’s taking me a bit longer…
Biography:
MacLeod is Senior Contracts Manager at Hachette Children’s Group in the UK, with a focus on contracts with Agents, Authors and Illustrators. She has been in publishing for 10 years, working in Contracts and IP and Licensing for Mainstream Publishing (commercial non-fiction), Pearson English (Education), and Hachette since early 2021 . She also worked for 3 years at the Publishers Association, leading industry campaigns and publisher relations. She recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Law, following on from a PGDip in UK, EU and US Copyright Law.